HomePod No Airplay to HomePod - two Access Points - same Wifi - Bluetooth ?

[cragem]

Hi all

I am using two AVM Wifi routers and two HomePods plus iPhone/iPad and Macbook

Room A:
AVM 7590 Router connected to DSL
one HomePod

Room B (ca. 20-30m away from Room A):
AVM 7490 Router configured as Mash Access Point, connected through LAN cable to the Router in room A
one HomePod

While sitting in Room A I can control both HomePods with my iPhone and iPad, like Airplay etc.
While sitting in Room B I can only control the HomePod in Room B. iPhone/iPad (connected to AVM 7490 AP) are showing the HomePod in room A but can't connect to the HomePod in Room A.
Unfortunately my MacBook Pro can control both HomePods independent in which room it is used.

I have sent both configurations from the router/AP to the support from AVM. The configuration and setup is correct. They don't know why the iPhone can't control/airplay to HomePods in room A while used in room B.

Is it possible that an iPhone must be in Bluetooth range in order to control HomePods ? I guess it is somehow related that the HomePods fall to sleep mode and I could not wake them up.

Thank you

 

[waw74]

bluetooth shouldn't be needed.

it sounds like a mDNS issue. mDNS is a network broadcast that allows devices to advertise what services they have available. It's used by airplay devices, as well as things like file sharing on a Mac, so they show up in other computers. Apple calls it bonjour.
It sounds like that broadcasts aren't making it from a device connected to A to a device connected to B.

There's an app called discovery that will let you see those broadcasts, you want to look for "_airplay._tcp." it might be in small letters, if you expand that, you should see every device on your network that can receive airplay.
Homepods will also have entries for HomeKit, and "hap" as well as a few others used for remotes and such.

compare what you're seeing when connected to A or B
look in the router settings for "network broadcasts" or mDNS or something similar. you can also google combos of that with the model of your wifi.

although re-reading, doesn't explain why the Mac works in both rooms. Have you verified which base station the Mac is connected to? if you alt-click the wifi icon in the menu you'll see BSSID, which is the MAC address of the wireless base you're connected to. make sure you're actually connected to B while you're the the B room.

and if that doesn't help, have you tried turning it off and back on again. This includes your phone, router, wifi base stations and any other network gear.


iOS version https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id305441017
Mac version https://apps.apple.com/us/app/discovery-dns-sd-browser/id305441017

 

[cragem]

Thank you for your answer. I have downloaded the iOS version and have compared. They are similar. I can see all HomePods in the list no matter at which Wifi AP I am connected to.

I also have taken another old iPhone and included it in the family account. It also works from room B without any problems similar to Macbook.

I am wondering why my iPhone and iPad have problems. The only difference is that on my iPhone/iPad I have two Apple accounts, one for iCloud and one for iTunes/Apps. I have reset network settings already but it does not help.

I was thinking about deleting my Home from the HomeApp but was hesitating so far due to re-installing the whole setup.

And still surprised why it works in room A and not in room B and both iPhones. At leaste something in the network is different.

 

[waw74]

have you tried adjusting who is allowed to access your speakers?

in the home app, go to home settings, then "allow speaker and TV access" try changing that to everyone, and see if it works, if it does, try changing it back to what you want it to be, it's possible something just got into a weird state.

You could try removing the HomePod from your home, and re-adding. instead of nuking the entire home.